PRIVACY POLICY

ABBOTT LABORATORIES IRELAND PRIVACY POLICY

Effective Date of this Privacy Policy: 22 June 2023

For persons located in the EU: The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) will come into force on 25 May 2018. The GDPR requires that we provide you with additional information beyond what is set out in this Privacy Policy. Please click here to view the information we are required to provide you under GDPR.

This Privacy Policy explains how Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, including its subsidiaries and affiliates (together referred to as “Abbott”), will process the personal data that you provide to us on https://www.Abbott.ie which links to this Privacy Policy (together referred to as the "Abbott Website"). Unless otherwise specifically noted, this Privacy Policy does not apply to personal data collected from you offline, to Abbott websites that do not link to this Privacy Policy or to third-party websites to the Abbott Website may link. Your use of the Abbott Website is subject to this Privacy Policy and the Online Terms of Use.

Please read this Privacy Policy before using the Abbott Website or submitting personal information to us.

WHAT IS "PERSONAL INFORMATION" AS USED IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY?

"Personal information" means information that identifies you or could be used to identify you and which is submitted to and/or collected by the Abbott Website. Examples of personal information include your name, your postal address, your email address and your telephone number.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “Act”), the data controller is Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited. Block B, Liffey Valley Office Campus, Quarryvale, Dublin 22, D22 X0Y3, Ireland.

HOW DOES ABBOTT COLLECT INFORMATION ONLINE?

Abbott may collect and process the following data about you:

  • Personal Information You Submit:
  • Abbott collects personal information that you enter into data fields on the Abbott Website. For example, you may submit your name, postal address, e-mail address, and/or other information in order to receive information about various subjects, register for Abbott programs, contact Abbott customer service, or respond to Abbott surveys. To protect your privacy, you should not provide Abbott with any information that is not specifically requested.

  • Passive Collection of Unidentifiable Information:
  • The Abbott Website may collect information about your visits to the Abbott Website without you actively submitting such information. Unidentifiable information may be collected using various technologies, such as cookies, and web beacons. Cookies are small text files that are transferred to your computer’s hard disk by a website. Web beacons (also referred to as GIF files, pixels or Internet tags) help Abbott recognize a unique cookie on your browser. Your Internet browser automatically transmits to the Abbott Website some of this unidentifiable information, such as the Uniform Resource Locater (URL) of the website you just visited and the browser version your computer is operating. Passive information collection technologies can make your use of the Abbott Website easier by allowing Abbott to provide better service, customize the Abbott Website based on consumer preferences, compile statistics, analyse trends, and otherwise administer and improve the Abbott Website. Certain features of the Abbott Website may not work without use of passive information collection technologies. Information collected by these technologies cannot be used to identify you without additional identifiable information and Abbott will not connect additional identifiable information with information collected through the use of such tracking technologies. With respect to limiting or disabling tracking technology please see below “What choices do I have about how Abbott collects and uses personal information about me?”

  • Information we receive from other Sources:
  • We may receive information about you if you use any of the other websites that we operate or the other services that we provide. We are also working closely with third parties (including, for example, business partners, sub-contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, advertising networks, analytics providers, search information providers, credit reference agencies) and may receive information about you from them.

IN WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES AND FOR WHAT PURPOSES MIGHT ABBOTT COLLECT AND USE PERSONAL INFORMATION?

Abbott will use the personal information you provide through the Abbott Website to respond to your questions and to provide you with efficient customer service. After you have entered personal information into a form or data field on the Abbott Website, Abbott may use certain identifying technologies to allow that Abbott website to "remember" your personal preferences, such as sections of that Abbott Website that you visit frequently and, if you choose, your user ID. We will only use your personal information for other business purposes, such as to offer you the opportunity to receive notices regarding Abbott’s products or services, to invite you to participate in surveys about our products, or to notify you about special promotions if you provided us with your prior opt-in for such purposes.

DOES ABBOTT CONSOLIDATE PERSONAL INFORMATION?

Abbott may consolidate personal information that you give to us and information that we collect from you. In addition, we may consolidate information in a non-identifiable form (aggregate/anonymous data) to help us better design the Abbott Website and Abbott products, to enhance our research activities and to facilitate other business functions.

WHAT CHOICES DO I HAVE ABOUT HOW ABBOTT COLLECTS AND USES PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME?

You may always limit the amount and type of personal information that Abbott receives about you by choosing not to enter any personal information into forms or data fields on the Abbott Website. Some of our online services can only be provided to you if you provide us with appropriate personal information. Other parts of the Abbott Website may ask whether you wish to opt into our contact lists for offers, promotions and additional services that may be of interest to you. You may also be provided with preference questions or preference boxes allowing you to indicate that you do not want the Abbott Website to use tracking technologies, such as cookies, to "remember" your personal information, such as user IDs or mailing addresses, on return visits. However, the Abbott Website that uses tracking technologies to collect unidentifiable information does not generally provide you with the ability to opt out of the tracking technologies. Some Internet browsers allow you to limit or disable the use of tracking technologies that collect unidentifiable information.

Where personal data is entered on someone's behalf, it is the responsibility of the user to ensure they have the individual’s consent to do so.

WHO WILL HAVE ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME?

Personal information can be accessed by a restricted number of Abbott employees, by certain companies with which Abbott may conduct joint programs, and by third parties with whom Abbott contracts to carry out business activities for Abbott. We train our employees about the importance of privacy and how to handle and manage customer data appropriately and securely. Also, it is Abbott’s practice to seek your consent where required by applicable law if you are registering for a program which is conducted in conjunction with another company that may require access to your personal information. In addition, Abbott’s practice is to require its contractors to keep your personal information confidential and to use your personal information only to perform functions for Abbott.

DOES ABBOTT SHARE PERSONALI INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES?

Except as otherwise stated in this Section, Abbott will not transfer your personal information to third parties unless you have been provided with an opportunity to opt into this disclosure. Abbott may share your personal information with any member of its group, which means its subsidiaries, its ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006. Abbott may disclose your personal information without your opt-in with selected third party service providers, including:

  • Business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract that we enter into with them or you; or
  • Advertisers and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of the Abbott Website.

It is Abbott’s practice to require such third party service providers to keep your personal information confidential and to use your personal information only to perform functions for Abbott and in accordance with Abbott’s instructions. Abbott further reserves the right to disclose your personal information to respond to authorized information requests from government authorities or when otherwise required by law. In the event Abbott sells one of its product lines or divisions, Abbott will only transfer your personal information to the buyer subject to your consent where required by applicable law so that the buyer can continue to provide you with information and services.

HOW DOES ABBOTT SECURE PERSONAL INFORMATION?

All information that you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. Any payment transactions will be encrypted. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of the Abbott Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

It is Abbott’s practice to secure each Abbott Website that collects personal information; however, the confidentiality of personal information transmitted over the Internet cannot be guaranteed. We urge you to exercise caution when transmitting personal information over the Internet. Abbott cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will not gain access to your personal information; therefore, when submitting personal information to the Abbott Website, you must weigh both the benefits and the risks. In addition, the Abbott Website will display a warning whenever you link to a website that is not controlled by Abbott; you should check the privacy policies of such third-party websites before submitting personal information.

HOW DOES ABBOTT PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF CHILDREN?

Abbott does not knowingly collect or use any personal information from children (we define "children" as minors younger than the age of 18) on the Abbott Website. We do not knowingly allow children to order our products, communicate with us, or use any of our online services. If you are a parent and become aware that your child has provided us with information, please contact us using one of the methods specified below, and we will work with you to address this issue.

HOW MAY I CORRECT PERSONAL INFORMATION OR DELETE IT FORM CURRENT CUSTOMER RECORDS?

With your support Abbott will keep personal information accurate and up-to-date. You may request to remove, amend or correct your personal information. Please notify us of your wishes by contacting us in one of the ways specified below. The Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information that we hold about you.

HOW LONG WILL ABBOTT STORE PERSONAL INFORMATION?

In general, Abbott will only store your personal information for as long as it is needed to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, subject to applicable data retention periods imposed upon Abbott by applicable law.

HOW CAN I CONTACT ABBOTT?

If you have questions about the scope, use, amendment, or deletion of personal information that you have provided to us, or if you would like to opt out of future communications from an Abbott business or a particular Abbott program, please contact us by clicking on the "Contact Us" link on the Abbott Website you are visiting or by e-mailing us at eu-dpo@abbott.com.

Alternatively you may send a letter to the following address:

Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited
Attention: Public Affairs, Department
Block B, Liffey Valley Office Campus,
Quarryvale,
Dublin 22,
D22 X0Y3,
Ireland.

In all communications to Abbott, please include the e-mail address used for registration (if applicable), the Abbott Website address on which you provided any personal information about which you have questions or concerns (e.g. Abbott.com etc.), and a detailed explanation of your request. If you would like to delete, amend or correct your personal information and are contacting us by e-mail, please put "Deletion Request" or "Amendment/Correction Request", as applicable, in the subject line of the e-mail. We will do our best to respond to all reasonable requests in a timely manner.

HOW WILL I KNOW WHETHER ABBOTT HAS UPDATED THIS PRIVACY POLICY?

If Abbott changes its privacy practices, an updated version of this Privacy Policy will reflect those changes and we will notify you of such changes by updating the effective date at the top of this Privacy Policy. Without prejudice to your rights under applicable law, Abbott reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect technological advancements, legal and regulatory changes and good business practices.